Air distributing system



H. L. GALsoN AIR DIS Dec. 22, 1936.

TRIBUTING SYSTEM Filed Sept. 22, 1932 ATTORNEY Pinellasr Dee'. 22, 1936UNITED srArEs AIR. DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM f H L. Galson,

of Delaware eni'y Philadelphia, Pa.; assignor to Baldwin- SouthwarkCorporation, a. corporation Application september 22, iosa, .serial No.634,407

` 6 Claims.

This invention "relates generally -to an improved system for coolingrailroad cars especially Pullman sleeping cars and more particularly toan improved system for distributing air in a I g sleeping car, the airbeing .preferably cooled by refrigeration apparatus operated duringtravel of the car. l f

Proper air conditioning and cooling of sleep- 1 ing cars is highlydesirable not only for the comm fort of passengers when the berths aremade up for sleeping but alsol when closed so as to be used for seatingvas during day travelling. Proper cooling of the car is rendereddifficult due to the usual side curtains and end walls enclosing theindividual upper and lower berths. It is desired that air distributed tothe individual berths should notcause a draft or conscious flow of `coolair over a passenger asleep to adequately protect himself in case he issusceptible to drafts. It

z to have a uniformly distributed and a continuous circulating gentle orfiltering flow of air within the sleeping spme with minimum possibilityof dead air pockets and to accomplish this with an economical and simplearrangement which will allow the air cooling and distributing system tobe eiliciently operated from a mechanical standl point. In providing asystemv whereby the cool air will flow gently over sleeping passengersit is also necessary to insure uniform. flow and -mlxture of air whenthe berths are closed and the car used for seating.

It is one object of my invention to provide an improved air distributingsystem for sleepingcars whereby the' individual berths or spaces may besubstantially Auniformly cooled and in a further aspect of the inventionit is an object to provide such a system which will be equally effectivein producing uniform circulation of cool 40 air when the berths-arearranged for seating. A more specific object of the invention is 'toutilize the usual upper berth as one element in my improved combinationfor assisting in the proper distribution of air either when the upper.

45 berth is down or up,

In the particular embodiment of the invention as shown herein thev airis admitted to the space ofthe lower berth by first being directedupwardly against the under surface of the upper V50 berth whichpreferably has a convex surface in.

transverse section with the air preferably impinglng against theslightly downwardly extending portion of said surface adjacent the carwall thus giving lthe air a slight initial downward |55 component offlow vwith the 'result that the air distributing system so as he isunable when is therefore desirable ment for providing a then iowsagainst the side curtains and is efficiently curled down over the berthin a substantially circular motion thus insuring along continuous pathof the air within the berth space before coming into contact with thepassenger or bedding and also substantially eliminating,

any dead air pocketswhile continued incoming air will flow into theaisle through the opening in the curtains.- The `upper berth has asimilar cooperating relation to another outlet of the that the cool airwillflow an appreciable distance before passing over the lpassenger orberth thereby causing the flowing air to be in thc nature of a gentlecirculation and yet, like the lower berth, the air will have anunobstructed path from the outlet' to the berth.

In one specific aspect of the invention I provide two outlets, one forthe upper and lower berths respectively, in suchy cooperating relationthat M when thev berths are arranged for seating the air ilow from eachoutlet will commingle so as to break up any direct draft effect, thusallowing the mixed flows to filter through the car space in a gentlemanner and yet insure proper circuu lation of the air.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will be more apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following description of theaccompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a vertical longitudinal section through a car showing onesection of berths made up with the side curtains for the lower berthpulled back;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken substantially on the line2-2 of Fig. l;

`Fig-3 isan enlarged fragmentary vertical transverse section of. the airvoutlet for the lower berth; and v Fig. 4 is a view howing a modiedarrangelower berth duct.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention I have shown in Fig. 1 afragmentary portion of a standard railroad car I having a sectiongenerally indicated at 5 provided with upper and lower berths 6 and irespectively. Asis usual in one fo'rm of standard car construction,windows 8 and 9 are located on each side of a main stanchion section I0which comprises a member II of channel or other suitable form extendingvertically from the car side sills I2 to the -loweredge of the halfdecks I3.` The half decks are connected by a usual roof I4.v Thezontally adjacent the car sides I5 to be swung upwardly into position asshown at the left side of Fig. 2 to effect the necessary seatingarrangement of the car or it is swung to its horizontal position asshown at the right side of Fig. 2 when the berths are made up forsleeping. It will of course be understood that the berths may bemaintained fixed in their sleeping position at all times such as inSteamship state rooms or possibly in future types of sleeping cars. Asis usual in the general type of sleeping car, herein specificallyconsidered, side curtains I6 are hung upon suitable longitudinal rodsI`I. The

backs I8 of seats I9, in conjunction with the removable or stationaryupper partitions 2l) resting upon the upper edge of backs I8, providethe necessary end walls of each section, thus insuring the desireddegree of enclosure and privacy for the respective berths or spaces. Thestructural details of the car and berths are not disclosed as such donot constitute part of the present invention which only involves thegeneral arrangement of the car and berths.

To provide the necessary distributing ducts to the berths and car it ispreferable that a main central supply passage or chamber 20 extendingpreferably the full length of the car shall be formed by walls 2|separate from the car roof, the walls 2I being supported by the roofthrough suitable longitudinal structural members 22. A series of lateralopenings 23 are arranged preferably in alignment with each of thestanchion sections I0 so that cooled air, or warm air if such should 'bedesired, may flow downwardly through outlets 23 and passage 24 to thehollow portion 25 of channel I I, it being noted that an inner Wall 26provides the necessary continuation of the walls 2| while the inner sideof the channel is covered by a usual Wall plate 21 which main- A tainsnot only the usual interior appearance of the car but also provides adefinite passageway 25. The lower end of channel II may be suitablyfilled or blocked off at 28 as by illing material 29.

To accomplish the results previously mentioned as to gentle circulationof air within the berth space there is provided an outlet 3U frompassage 25, this outlet having suitable louvers 3| inclined so as todirect the outowing air upwardly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, against thetransfersely convexed under surface 32 of lower berth 6 when in its downposition. This air is preferably directed against the slightly downwardinclined portion 33 adjacent the car wall I5, thus insuring an initialdownward component of the air flow generally indicated'by arrows 34.Hence the air will tend to continue in a rotary path as shown in Fig. 2although of course the continued incoming air will cause a certainamount to flow outwardly through openings between the side curtains.

To provide cooled air individually to the upper berths a series ofopenings or a single continuous longitudinal opening 35 is provided inthe lower wall 2I while a horizontal baille 36, extending From It isessential not only to cool the car when used for sleeping but also to beable to effectively and efficiently cool the same when used for seatingand to this end it will be noted that the vupper and lower outlets 30and 35 are-arranged for cooperation so that when the upper berth isclosed the air flow from the upper outlet 35 and lower oulets 30 will,as shown at the left side of Fig. 2, cause thetwo sources of air tocounteract each other and commingle at an area adjacent the side of theupper berth 6 whereupon this air will filter or circulate down to insurecomplete uniform coolness of the car without drafts. In thisarrangement, air flowing through openings 30 is in a directionpreferably substantially parallel to the under or normally exposedsurface of the upper berth 6 or at least the air flows from opening 30in the same general direction as the berth 6 in closed position.

If a duct cannot be provided conveniently within either the stanchionsection or the usual smaller stanchion between main stanchions then arelatively thin duct 38 of large rectangular cross section may be addedto the car leading from openings 23 or passage 24 and down along thewall so as to terminate in openings 30. By having such a relatively thinduct it will not obstruct or inconvenience the passenger using the upperberth and it will also be completely out of sight when the berth isfolded up, thus leaving the openings 30 to be the only visible portionof the duct when the car is used for seating, it being understood thatthe duct would stop at the point 28 the same as in the preferred form. n

Hence it is seen that my improved system not only has simplicity andeconomy of operation but insures uniform circulation and coolness bothwhen the car is used for sleeping and seating.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in theconstruction and arrangement of parts and detailsof designs withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. An air distributing system for a railway car comprising' a passagewayextending longitudinally of the car, and ducts leading laterally anddownwardly from-said passageway and vertically along the side of the carwith outlets communicating with the interior thereof, said outlets beingprovided'with vanes for directing the air upwardly into the car.

2. A system for-distributing air in railway cars comprising, incombination, means for directing a supply of' air upwardly into the carfrom an intermediate position at the sides of the ca r, and meansfor'directing a countercurrent of air into the car from near the topthereof.

3. A system for distributingair to a room having superimposed upper andlower berths, comprising a passageway for supplying air to the space ofthe lower berth by directing the air upwardly toward the under surfaceof the upper berth, and means for supplying air in a downward andoutward direction into the upper berth space.

4. A system for distributing air in a railway car having arrangementsfor a lower convertible berth and seat and an upper berth adapted to bepositioned horizontally for sleeping purposes and to be folded up whenthe lower berth is used for seating, comprising, in combination, meansfor supplying air to the lower berth space in an upward direction fromone side thereof, and means y 9,065,4,45 `for supplying air to the upperberth space from the upper portion of the opposite side of saidberths,each of said supplying means being so re1- atively arranged thatwhen the upper berth is folded up, the respective supplies of air aresubstantially opposed.

5. A system for distributing air in a railway sleeping car havingarrangements -for a. lower `convertible berth and-seat, an upper berthpro vided with a convex under surface and extending in a horizontalposition from the side of the car when used as a berth and disposed inan upwardly inclined position when the car is used for seating,comprising, in combination, a passageway for supplying air to the lowerberth space and having provision for initially directing 'air lupwardlyagainst a downwardly extendingv portion of said convex surface wherebythe air for the-lower berth space is given a downward-com-- ponent, oi'motion thus insuring an indirect air circulation over a sleepingpassenger.

6. A system for distributing air in a railway sleeping car having alower convertible berth and seating arrangement and an upper foldableberth, said berths beingv provided with curtains at one side and the carwall at the other side, comprising, in combination, means for supplyingair upwardly into the lower berth space from the car wall, and means forsupplying air from a central upper portion of thev car to the upperberth space by directing said air over the top of the curtain for saidupper berth.

HENRY L. GALsoN.

